An Artist Turned A Church Into A Massive Tennis Court And It Looks Uber Cool

Asad Raza turned a 16th century church in Milan into a bright orange tennis court

#Beautiful: 🎾 🎾 🎾 🎾 🎾 🎾 🎾 🎾🎾🎾 10/10

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play tennis in a church?

Wonder no more – artist Asad Raza has converted a 16th century church in Milan into a huge orange tennis court, complete with tennis balls, and rackets, and refreshments. The beautiful and bright installation is named ‘Untitled (Plot for Dialogue)’, and aims to repurpose Milan’s La Chiesa Di San Paolo Converso into a modern contemporary art space.

And it looks modern and contemporary alright.

Contrasting colour and form with the mystical atmosphere of an old church, the full tennis court provides an amazing interplay of movement, culture, and social practice. Stone sculpture ‘non-humans’ meet real-life humans, and a typically exterior sports ground meets the intimacy of a religious interior. It’s an artful playground of its most intriguing type.

To create the installation, Raza combined a geometric placement of lines with netting, tennis accessories, and idyllic additions such as iced jasmine tea and a specially curated scent. The original Baroque church walls features frescoes and a ceiling painted by the Campi brothers, all of which look over the central playing field, complete with ‘tennis coaches’ as part of the installation.

Inspired by his own love for tennis, the Raza wanted to create a tennis court that allowed for interaction. Visitors get to play an active role in the installation, and indulge in a game of tennis, all the while appreciating the visual beauty of the re-purposed church. The art piece speaks for not only communicating with the divine, but also with one another as equals in a fair two-way exchange.

A description by Converso Online reads, “The piece places the experience of play above purely visual appreciation, as the back-and-forth of tennis exchanges produces meditative beauty through actions never to be repeated.”